Eira Calvierri
}}| }px]] |- ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#a47719; color:#ffffff;" | Biographical Information |- |'Full Name' |Eira Juno Storm Calvierri |- |'First Name Pronunciation' |AIR-ah |- |'Nicknames' |Taur'ohtar (meaning Ranger), Little Miss Attitude |- |'Dragon Tongue Title' |Riñakla Qopsa (Little Difficult Maiden) |- | Homeland | Ealdor, the Elven Dominion |- | Born | 1217 AD |- |'Died' | n/a |- |'Occupation' |Princess of Logres, Former Queen of Camelot, Former First Lady |- |'Coat of Arms at Birth' | |- |'Adopted Coat of Arms' | |- |'Personal Coat of Arms' | |- ! colspan="2" style="background-color:#a47719; color:#ffffff;" | Physical Description |- | Race | Grey Elf |- | Gender | Female |- | Height | 5' 5" (1.67m) |- | Hair color | Formerly long and dark, just like her mother and sisters. She has recently taken to wearing it short and dyed red, however. |- | Eye colour |Brown, though in some lights they take on an eerie, almost reddish glow. |- | Distinguishing Features |Her attitude and her magical ability to manipulate the local weather of whatever region she's in (a skill she learned later on in life which had lain dormant for many years until it was accidentally awoken.) |- |'Languages Spoken' |Eira is fluent in English, Elvish and Greek, and being a seasoned traveller, has also learned many other languages, not fluently, but enough to help her get by. These languages include French, German, Latin, Spanish, Saxon, Draconian, Persian, Egyptian and Hebrew. |} Eira Calvierri is the youngest daughter of Torani Storm, Queen of the Elves and Sir Gwaine Calvierri, a senior knight of the Queensguard of Ealdor. Because her parents were not married at the time of her birth, making Eira a 'baseborn' or illegitimate child, she was not allowed, by law, to assume the title 'Princess' or stand to inherit the throne, much to her disgust. (This fact would later become redundant when she assumed the throne of Camelot through her marriage to Galahad.) Unlike her brother Flynn, or sister Mithian who were not bothered by the fact they could never assume the throne, or royal titles, Eira often saw it as an 'injustice' and as such, was very rebellious growing up, doing everything she could just to cause trouble for her mother, who she blames for the 'stupid law' that prevented her from being a 'Royal'. As a teenager, she resented the fact that she was baseborn, and also felt that she was overshadowed by Seifa, causing Eira to feel incredible jealousy and rivalry towards her half sister. She also believed that she was unjustly and unfairly treated by those around her, and whilst this was never the case, she had managed to convince herself that it was. By rebelling against everything and everyone around her, it made her feel better, because by acting up and doing things she shouldn't, she as finally getting the attention that she so desperately craved. There was an upside to not being a princess, however. Because she was free of the obligations of duty, and could go wherever she liked, whenever she liked and could do whatever she liked as well. As such, she developed a taste for travelling, and since the day she was old enough to go off alone, she has done exactly that, wandering off for weeks at a time to explore new places and see new sights. This 'lone ranger' lifestyle has earned her the nickname "Taur'ohtar" which is Elvish for 'Ranger'. Even after becoming Queen of Camelot, at the tender young age of sixteen and being forced to grow up and start acting more maturely, she still retains some of her stubborness and attitude, and her passions for travelling and sightseeing. After her mother and father finally married, however, the Queen was able to officially remove the 'illegitimacy' of her children and Eira was made Princess of Logres. 'Personality and Traits' All her life, Eira grew up in the shadow of those around her - causing her to feel great envy and jealousy towards them, particularly Seifa. After all.... Seifa was considered royalty - Eira was not. Seifa held claims to titles and thrones (Ealdor and Ferelden) - Eira did not. Seifa was adored and respected by the people - Eira was ignored. Seifa owned a dragon and a pegasus - Eira did not. As a result, Seifa often felt the brunt of Eira's frustration, as she had all the things that her sister so desperately craved - love from her family, a strong man to love and protect her, a throne to inherit, a title and the power that goes with it, the respect of the people, loyal and devoted friends, amazing pets (a dragon and a pegasus respectively)..... What Eira did not realise until much later in her life, was that she has most of these things too, if she were to choose to look. But her envy and her jealousy made her blind. The only way she knew to get any form of attention was by causing trouble and giving her mother grief. Even her other sister, Mithian, had virtually given up on her, as Mithian and Eira are like chalk and cheese - completely different in every way. What they don't realise is that they are both two sides of the same coin. It took a combination of many years, the kidnapping of her mother and the inheriting of a throne to make Eira actually realise just how lucky she was. 'Family' Eira's large and rather complex family. 'Direct Family' Father - Gwaine Calvierri Mother - Torani Storm Step Father - Alistair Theirin† Sibling(s) - *Seifa Storm (Older Half Sister) *Mithian Calvierri Storm (Older Sister) *Flynn Calvierri Storm (Older Brother) *Maric Storm (Younger Brother) *Alyx Snow (Younger Sister) Spouse(s) - *Galahad, son of Gaheris - Ex Husband (Divorced) *Gryfflett 'Gryff' Byrne - 2nd Husband Children - *Zena Storm - Eldest Daughter. Twin of Torin. Named after the Greek God, Zeus. *Torin Storm - Eldest Son. Twin of Zena. Named after his grandmother, Torani. *Tala Blaez Storm - Daughter. Stolen from her mother at birth and raised away from her family. Was cursed as a werewolf when she was a child. Has an enchanted barrier around her, preventing Eira from coming within a hundred metres. The barrier also stops any messages being passed from mother to daughter. Name means 'Golden Eyes', 'Red Wolf' and 'Stalking Wolf'. Grandchildren - *Kahlan Storm - Daughter of Tala Blaez. Identical twin of Lois Storm. *Lois Storm - Daughter of Tala Blaez. Identical twin of Kahlan Storm. 'In-Laws' Father in Law - Gaheris, son of Bors † (Galahad's father), then Gryfflett's Father Mother in Law - Aurora Rose † (Galahad's Mother), then Gryfflett's Mother Brother(s) in Law - *Sir Bedivere (Husband of Mithian) *Sir Percival (Husband of Seifa) *Natham Myron (Sort of. Husband of Laini) Sister(s) in Law - *Ahsoka Swyft † (Briefly. Partner of Flynn - Killed in the First Dragon War) 'Grandparents' Paternal Grandmother - Evelyn Calvierri † Paternal Grandfather - Ector Calvierri Maternal Grandmother - Rose Storm † Maternal Grandfather - Norin Storm Cade † Honourary Grandmother(s) - Kyra Spyros † Honourary Grandfather(s) - Achilles of Myrmidon † 'Aunts and Uncles' Paternal - *Killian Calvierri (Uncle) *Lena Calvierri † (Aunt) *Aryadne Mason † (Aunt) *Una Stardance † (Great Aunt) *Syleth Stardance (Great Uncle) Maternal - *Lorcan Storm (Uncle) *Rose Storm II (Aunt) *Seth Storm/Loki Vastra (Uncle) *Vesper Duane † (Aunt) *Cailan Theirin † (Step Uncle) *Keras Ksenia (Great Aunt) *Hector Storm † (Great Uncle) *Lucan Storm † (Great Uncle) *Reinnete Storm † (Great Aunt) Honourary - *Panos, Son of Achilles (Uncle) *Samiyah of Midas (Aunt) *Lyra, Daughter of Achilles † (Aunt) *Arista, Daughter of Achilles (Aunt) 'Cousins (including removed, 2nd and 3rd cousins)' Paternal Cousin (s) - *Kit Stardance (1st Cousin Once Removed) *Saiya Stardance (1st Cousin Once Removed) *Aquila Stardance (2nd Cousin) Maternal Cousin (s) - *Rosalie Storm (1st Cousin) *Eldin Sunweaver (1st Cousin Once Removed) *Laini Storm (2nd Cousin - Adopted Sister) *Thayn Storm (2nd Cousin) *Shaina Storm (2nd Cousin) *Azrael of Midas (2nd Cousin Once Removed) *Rhaegar of Midas (2nd Cousin Once Removed) *Auréle of Midas (2nd Cousin Once Removed) *Nerynia of Midas (2nd Cousin Once Removed) *Halion of Midas (2nd Cousin Once Removed) *Raiden Myron (2nd Cousin Once Removed - Adopted Nephew) *Visenya Myron (2nd Cousin Once Removed - Adopted Niece) *Daena Myron (2nd Cousin Once Removed - Adopted Niece) *Dante, Son of Panos (Honourary Cousin) *Sansa, Daughter of Panos (Honourary Cousin) 'Nieces and Nephews' *Clara Storm - Niece (Daughter of Seifa) *Winter Denna - Adopted Niece (Daughter of Siri) *Ashildr Storm - Great Niece (Daughter of Clara) *Arya Storm - Great Niece (Daughter of Clara) *Leia Storm - Great Niece (Daughter of Clara) 'History' 'In the Beginning' Eira was born just months after her cousins Laini and Thayn (really her second cousins, though Laini would later end up becoming her adopted sister). She was the youngest of this generation of the Storm/Myrmidon/Elis households whilst Seifa was the eldest. As such, Eira always found herself growing up in the shadow of others, and whatever she did, someone else had always done before her. First words, first steps, first time she rode a horse, first time she drew a picture - all huge moments for Eira, and yet she did not receive the recognition she so desperately craved, simply because it was 'old news' that had been done so many times before. Her parents never meant for this to happen - they loved her dearly - but she'd seen the way they were with the others, and her young mind could not see that Gwaine and Torani loved each of their children dearly, and treated them all in very different ways. All Eira knew was jealousy that she was not treated the way Seifa was treated - because Seifa, being the eldest, was the role model that Eira wanted to be like. She wanted to be just like her sister, and figured that the only way she could be like her sister was if people treated her the same - which they weren't. This misunderstanding caused her to grow up pretty resentful, jealous and bitter - especially towards Seifa, who suffered the brunt of Eira's jealousy for pretty much the first two decades of Eira's life. But it wasn't just Seifa that Eira had a problem with. She was jealous of all her siblings, because they always beat her to everything, did everything better, got given the best of everything whilst she was given hand-me-downs and second hand things....even Laini, who was not actually Torani's daughter, was treated better than Eira (in Eira's mind, at least). It was enough to drive her crazy! That was why she started to strike out on her own, forge her own path and not conform to the social patterns laid down by her older siblings. If they went one way, she deliberately went the opposite, just to make a point. If they sat down, she stood up. If they went outside, she went inside. If they were hot, she was cold, if they said something was black, she'd insist it was white. And it worked - to an extent. She started getting noticed, and people started giving her more attention - but for all the wrong reasons. Her behaviour was negative, which invoked negative attitudes towards her in return, and pushed her away, driving her to do even more negative things in retaliation. It was a vicious circle that she found herself trapped in now, and yet it was the only way she could ever get anyone to notice and pay attention to her. Especially her mother. If this was the only way she could get her mother to notice her, then why would she stop, just because she knew it was wrong? 'Daddy's Little Girl' Of course, there was one person who she behaved for - her father, Gwaine. She had worked out pretty early on that whilst Seifa was Tora's clear and obvious favourite, followed by Laini, she herself was in fact her father's favourite. He adored her because she was different. She was herself, and never tried to be anything else. And she reminded him the most of her mother. His attitude towards her was never negative - he was understanding, kind, sympathetic even. And he always offered a shoulder for her to cry on, or an ear to listen to her complaints, whenever she just needed to let off steam. He never said no to her whenever she asked for something. He let her have what she wanted, do what she wanted, go where she wanted - he understood that she was a young girl who craved independence, but at the same time needed the reassurance from those she loved and cared for. Because contrary to popular belief, she did love her mother and siblings. She just had a hard time showing it. Everyone else just took her as cold hearted, emotionless and bitchy. Gwaine saw her for what she really was - a little girl who was afraid, using her attitude as a shield to protect herself from the world. Torani saw this too, but was never able to get through to her daughter in the same way as Gwaine could. When Tora tried, Eira would close herself away behind her shield, and she and Tora - being very similar in attitude - would clash verbally. In the end, Torani gave up trying, and from then on, Gwaine would often be sent as the 'peacemaker' to resolve situations whenever necessary. When Gwaine's father, Lord Ector, also returned to Elysium, he showed the same attitude as his son, and soon Eira found that she had two people fighting her corner with her. Suddenly, she wasn't so alone any more. 'Rescue Mission' Eira may have publicly refused to behave for her mother, and constantly caused her grief, but deep down she loved her dearly, and when Torani vanished without a trace, Eira was the first to become increasingly worried for her safety. She knew her mother, after all - knew that Tora always made sure to keep in contact whenever possible. Two weeks with no word from her mother was enough to raise Eira's suspicions, and her sister Seifa was equally as worried. For the first time ever, the two put aside their differences and began to work together, joined in their common goal of making sure their mother was safe. Whilst Seifa remained in the Grand Palace, co-ordinating the various search groups, Eira went out and actively searched for her mother, leading many search parties right across the kingdom, before then venturing to other kingdoms when an entire search of Elysium turned up nothing but even more questions as to the missing Queen's whereabouts. When neighbouring kingdoms caught wind of the fact that Elysium was currently leaderless, they began to test the waters, and soon Seifa was caught up in the desperate struggle just to prevent the kingdom from falling. Eira therefore took over control of the search for her mother, and with renewed determination, set out for Camelot and Britain - two kingdoms she knew were allies of her mother. Her uncle and cousins were searching Greece, and Elysium had been search from top to bottom with no stone left unturned, so she truly didn't know where else to look. Camelot was a long shot, but by now, Torani had been missing for five months, and things were starting to get desperate. And it was here, that Eira met her first husband, Galahad, Son of Gaheris. 'Galahad' She'd been fleeing from four men - or a 'quad' - who had been chasing her, when she came across the nephew of King Arthur. The quad had followed her from Britain, where she'd previously met with King John for the same reason she was now meeting with King Arthur. The Quad were assassins, sent to kill her by John (who turned her away and believed she was a spy for Robin Hood). Galahad came to her aid, leading her away from the men and hoping to lose them. When they were surrounded, he helped Eira to deal with them, despite the fact that between the pair of them, they only had a knife, two bows and a handful of arrows - not good for close quarter combat. The two took a moment to recover, and talk, and Galahad called her 'friend'. She quizzed him on his choice of words, before revealing that she'd never had any real friends - only her family, who she wasn't particularly close to anyway (which she feels is her fault because of the way she's treated them all). After their talk, Galahad escorted her safely the rest of the way to Camelot's citadel and used his status as the son of a knight to get her inside, where a banquet was being held to honour Queen Guinevere's birthday. Eira was more than a little skittish during the banquet, however, and Galahad believed it was because of the Quad who had hunted her. In reality, she was simply afraid of being recognized or discovered. Eventually Arthur came over and with a few cryptic explanations from Eira, he took her away to talk privately. She told he and his wife Guinevere everything that had happened, begging for their help - or at the very least, any information they may have about her mother. A while later, she emerged with the King and Queen, looking disappointed but more relaxed, at least. Galahad began to realise that there was more to Eira than she'd let on, however, and during the rest of the evening, tried to find ways of getting her to reveal her true identity. She refused to tell him anything, hiding behind their bond of friendship, and telling him that the day he told her his secret, she would tell him hers. Galahad's secret was that he was in fact strong enough and fully able to be a knight, but didn't want to be, so often lied about his 'disability'. He did not want Eira to know because he was afraid she would think less of him, or judge him for being a coward. She'd never have done that, but he didn't know her well enough to know that, so didn't want to take the chance. Eira was unable to gain any information from Arthur about her mother, but she did gain an alliance from Albion. Arthur also offered her three of his best knights as protection during her journey, but Eira refused, stating that he needed them more. Instead, she was happy to take Galahad. Arthur was happy for this, as was Gaheris, but Galahad wasn't so sure. He knew that Eira's path was dangerous and he would be forced to fight, revealing his secret. Gaheris took him to one side and explained that a woman like Eira comes only once in every lifetime. If he letsher go now, he'd never meet another girl like her. Finally Galahad agreed, and the two set off back for Ealdor so that Eira could see if her family have discovered anything new that might help in her search for her mother. Along the way, she and Galahad bonded even more, though still did not have the courage to tell one another their secrets just yet. As they reached Ealdor, however, Eira began to wonder if it was such a good idea. Sooner or later she'd have to tell him the truth. She waited until they were back at the palace (Galahad wondering how she knew so many royal families and could be welcomed so easily into their homes), and then she and her father told him everything - about who she was, why she hid her identity and why she was searching for her mother. She believed Galahad would be angry for her deception, but instead he thought it was brilliant! He was amazed and stunned to be in such company, and then felt obliged to reveal his own secret about being able to fight. To his surprise, Eira was not angry either. In fact she called them both fools, and laughed it all off. Gwaine welcomed Galahad, and offered to knight him, but Galahad refused, stating that he was still not ready to become a knight. He wa happy just to be who he was. 'Rescue Mission Resumed' After this brief distraction in Camelot, Eira jumped right back into the search for her mother again, with renewed determination. Finding her long chocolate hair was more of a hindrance than anything, she hacked it all short, making it much easier to maintain. Then, just for the hell of it, she dyed it red as well, giving her a much more 'fierce' look, particularly as her eyes - so she'd been told - sometimes took on a reddish tint when she was angry. Once this was done, she gathered herself some travelling clothes and set off into the world once more, this time deciding to personally search Greece herself. 'Queen of Camelot' A month after Torani was rescued by Eira, Galahad and a small company of others, news reached Galahad that his Uncle was in deep trouble, back in Camelot. Mordred, Galahad's cousin and Arthur's nephew, had risen up against the King and started a rebellion to seize the throne. Arthur was calling all available aid, so Galahad and Eira accepted the call now that her mother was safe once more. The pair hurried back to Camelot in time to take part in the fateful Battle of Camlann, where Mordred's men were making a bold stand against King Arthur's. The battle wore on for many hours, and almost all of Arthur's Round Table knights were killed. Arthur and Mordred duelled well into the evening, when Mordred finally gained the upper hand and mortally wounded his uncle (though not before losing his own hand, gaining a scar across his cheek and shattering his leg so badly that it would never fully heal). Mordred's mother, Morgan Le Fay, had repented her sins before the battle and now, horrified by her son's actions, begged to take her half-brother to the Isle of Avalon so that he may be placed into a deep sleep, allowing his wounds to heal. Before she took him away, however, he had just enough time to share a few words with his Nephew. Galahad was the last surviving member of the Pendragon Bloodline (indirectly), with the exception of Mordred. Arthur could not bare the thought of Mordred taking the throne, so declared Galahad as his rightful heir and the next King of Camelot. Galahad, seeing no other choice, accepted on the condition that Eira become his Queen. She, being madly in love with him at the time accepted to proposal to become his wife and Queen, despite being only fifteen years old. This would later be one thing she looked back on with regret, stating that she was too young to have made such a decision. At the time, however, she did not even consider the consequences and accepted eagerly. Arthur then knighted them both, making Eira the first 'Lady Knight' of Camelot. Neither of them understood why he had done this, but Merlin would later explain that it was because the Round Table in Camelot was enchanted, and only those knighted by Arthur could sit at it. Anyone else who tried would be killed by the enchantments. Two weeks after the battle, when the people had had time to mourn and recover from the battle, Galahad and Eira were married. Then, a week after their wedding, Galahad was crowned King and Eira became his Queen. She would be the only woman to sit at the Round Table, in its entire history, and felt truly honoured by this. After all, not even Arthur's Queen, Guinevere, had sat at the table during his reign. Guinevere was nowhere to be seen - she had fled with Lancelot after the battle, and neither of them would be seen or heard from again. Mordred, meanwhile, had skulked away to lick his wounds and was not seen for a year after the battle, which gave Galahad and Eira time to focus on the other problems they now faced together - namely ruling Camelot and taming Arthur's enchanted sword, Excalibur. 'Love, Death, Birth' After becoming Galahad's wife and Queen, Eira set about trying to learn how to rule a kingdom. She'd observed her mother and sister, Seifa, on many occasions, so was able to make use of what she'd learned from them, and with the aid of Merlin, the ageing physician, she just about scraped by. Galahad was even less clued up on how to rule a kingdom, despite being crowned as the new King, so he would often look to Eira for help and guidance, which added even more pressure to the young girl's shoulders. She was only sixteen, after all, yet she was already married and ruling a kingdom by herself with no-one to help her. A new found respect for her mother was drawn from this experience as Tora had also been thrust into the leadership role before she was ready, when Queen Rose was unexpectedly cut down in battle. Eira drew strength from her mother's example, however, deciding that if Torani could do it, then so could she. She was determined to make Camelot a safe and peaceful place once more, where the people thrived and were happy. So she threw herself into her work, turning the war-torn kingdom round and winning over the hearts of the people. She also became incredibly popular with the few remaining Round Table knights, especially Sirs Talan and Gryfflett, who would often side with her and support her decisions during debates. During one particular meeting of the Round Table, however, Eira discovered some shocking news. The table, as always, would create a symbol before each person who sat at it, and the symbol was personal to each individual. Eira's had always been a dragon - she assumed because of her dragon blood, and the fact that she had married Galahad, so was now considered a Pendragon by name. However, this particular day, the familiar dragon symbol was also joined by a much smaller dragon symbol within the larger one. Eira realised almost immediately what this likely meant, but hid the symbol beneath her cup of water,excused herself from the meeting under the pretense of feeling ill (which wasn't entirely a lie, as morning sickness had started to kick in already) and ran to Merlin - the only one she knew who could confirm her suspicion. When Merlin confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, Eira went into semi-shock for a short amount of time, before snapping back to her senses. Her first thought was to get rid of the child. She was still only a child herself, and was far too young to become a mother. Eventually, however, Merlin talked her round and convinced her to keep the child. In years to come, Eira would be forever thankful that she listened to him, as she loves all her children dearly, and couldn't imagine her life without them now. Being a Grey Elf meant that she shared the same characteristics as a full blood elf when it came to childbirth, so just six months later, the twins were born - Zena first, then Torin ten minutes later. Eira was completely besotted with them both, as soon as they arrived, and she would not leave them alone for even a single minute - too scared that this was all a dream that she'd wake from too soon for her liking. For some reason, that no-one would ever be able to explain, having children affected Galahad in a most unexpected way, and he began to lose the connection he had once had with Eira. Whereas she was all over her twins, smothering them with love and affection, he chose to distance himself and throw himself into the duties of the kingdom, picking up Eira's usual duties and carrying them, as well as his own. For a time this suited Eira, as it freed her hands to remain with her children, but ultimately it was in fact the beginning of the breakdown of her marriage. Tensions only continued to grow when news reached them of Torani's murder at the hands of Shaina Storm. Eira had never met the elusive Queen, at least not that she could recall anyways (she was too young to remember anything from before the Doom), but in that instant as she read the message sent to her by her grandfather, Ector Calvierri, Eira formed in her mind an iron clad, absolute and certain hatred for the woman who had stolen her mother's life. She didn't realise it at the time, but this hatred of Shaina would mark the first time that she and her elder sister Seifa had ever shared the same opinion. Both hated the woman with extreme passion, though Eira being Eira wanted to take it that one step further. Seifa was content to banish Shaina and name her 'Elfsbane' - a warning to all Elves who came across her path that she was a traitor and a murderer - but Eira was not content to sit back and let her get away with it. She tried to convince Galahad that they should rally the army of Camelot and march upon Shaina's 'kingdom' so that she could kill the Queen and avenge her mother's death. Galahad refused to get Camelot involved in the politics of the rest of Europe, so Eira decided that she would go behind his back and rally the army anyway, straining their already tense relationship even further, especially when Galahad found out and confronted her about it. However, Eira was not alone in this quest for vengeance. Talan and Gryfflett were by her side, as always - her most loyal of followers - and her handmaiden Kendra also agreed to come, if only to care for the children. A battleground was no place for newborns, after all. Before Eira could gather any more supporters to her cause, however, Mordred finally decided that he'd waited long enough to seek his own revenge, and struck in the dead of night. 'Mordred' Mordred had fallen for the young Queen from the moment he'd set eyes upon her from across the battlefield in Camlann, and during his recovery as he nursed his wounds after the battle, she was never far from his thoughts. When one of his spies from within Camelot reported that the King and Queen were having 'marriage difficulties', Mordred decided to use this to his advantage. In the dead of night, he had some of his men sneak into the castle and kidnap the Queen. He had hoped that he might be able to sway her to his cause, using the difficulties between her and Galahad as leverage. But despite what may have been going on between her and her husband, Eira knew a rat when she saw one. Albeit a one handed, crippled, severely scarred rat. But a rat none-the-less. She refused to join Mordred, despite his many attempts to sway her and win her round with compliments, gifts and promises, so in the end he resorted to blackmail - threatening the lives of her children if she did not co-operate. Eira had no choice then but to do as he asked, and became his willing prisoner for a time. In return for her co-operation, Mordred had her children snatched by his men and brought to her as well, so that she would be happy in the knowledge that they were safe and he had not harmed them. And so she waited, with her twins, for Galahad to rescue her. And she waited. And waited. Even Mordred was surprised by the lack of any form of rescue attempt, or even a bargain of some kind from the King. He sent several 'threatening' letters demanding payment, otherwise harm would befall the Queen and her children, but still Galahad did not respond, so in the end Mordred decided that he must have not been using the right incentive on the King. For whatever reason, Galahad didn't care about the welfare of his wife or children. Eira was so angry by this that she offered to march straight back into the palace and deal with her husband on Mordred's behalf, but whilst the Black Knight was more than a little amused by this offer, and sorely tempted to take her up on it, in the end he decided to see if the King was bluffing. He would send back one of the twins' heads to see if this raised a reaction. Eira would never allow this, however, and after a frantic fight broke out between the two, she eventually overpowered the crippled knight and stabbed him with his own blade, driving it right up to the hilt in her frenzied determination to ensure that he was dead and could not touch her children. Minutes later, Gryfflett, Talan and Kendra arrived to rescue her, and the group made their escape. Eira sent Talan back to Camelot with her wedding ring and a message to the King to stick it where the sun doesn't shine, then she, Gryfflett and Kendra made for Elysium. The young Queen had decided that she had been away from home for too long, and it was time to return. 'A Deal She'd Live To Regret' At some point during her return to Elysium, Eira came across Rumplestiltskin - a trickster who made her a very promising deal. He would ensure that Galahad signed the divorce papers, freeing Eira to be with Gryfflett once and for all. And in exchange he would call upon her at a later date to collect his payment. He never stated what the payment would be, however, and Eira - in her naive youth - foolishly didn't ask. She forgot all about it until over a year later when Tala Blaez was born. Just hours after the birth of her daughter, Eira was once again visited by Rumple, who had come to claim his prize - namely Tala Blaez. Eira was horrified and did everything she could to desperately try and keep her daughter safe, but Rumple had the upper hand, and with magic on his side, snatched her daughter and vanished. Several search parties were sent out, including one formed of the Mord Sith Cara and Siri, and Eira's uncle Loki who had his own personal vendetta against Rumple. Eira may have thought life couldn't have got much worse for her then, but she would soon be dealt another horrific blow as Siri Denna was killed in Gedrefed. Her body was brought back to Elysium, along with her own newborn daughter, Winter, and no matter how much Eira tried to tell herself that Siri's death was not her fault, she never truly believed it. Siri had gone out searching for Tala Blaez, after all. If Eira had never made the stupid deal in the first place, Tala Blaez would never have been snatched, Siri would never have ended up in Gedrefed, and she'd never have died. Flynn was furious with his sister over everything that happened and after angrily placing the blame entirely at her feet (an accusation she did not deny), he left the Kingdom. Cara also left, and in the space of a year, Eira found that she had not only lost her daughter, but her brother and two of her only friends as well. She fell into a state of depression for a long time afterwards, blaming herself and drowning in her own guilt. Eventually, however, something snapped her out of this depression and she set about trying to put things right again. 'A Permanent Reminder' The first thing on her list was to ensure that she never, ever made such a foolish mistake again. So she arranged a meeting with a well known and respected artist in the city and asked for him to give her a tattoo. It was a common belief amongst the elves that tattoos were the marks of slavery, as slavers used to tattoo their slaves, to mark them as their property. The artist therefor refused at first, because he would not subject the Princess of the Realm to what he considered an act of disrespect by marking her with the brand of a slave. When she explained to him why she wanted the tattoo, however, he reconsidered his earlier stance and finally agreed. Because he was one of the Royal artists, who often created paintings that were specially commissioned by her family, Eira was able to bribe him into keeping her tattoo a secret, even from her own family. As long as he never spoke a word of what went on that day to anyone, she would continually pay him an extra wage, effectively doubling what he earned each month. The moment her secret slipped out and became common knowledge, however, she would take back every single penny she'd ever given him, which would destroy his livelihood and drive him into immediate and absolute poverty. She hated being harsh and extreme, and knew that it wasn't a bribe so much as pure blackmail instead. But she hoped this was incentive enough to keep him quiet anyway and ensure her secret remained as such. She then told him exactly what she wanted, where she wanted it and why. The process was not painless and it was not quick either, but several hours later, Eira walked away with her now permanent reminder inked into her skin on the left side of her ribcage - as close to her heart as she could get it. To those who could not read Elvish, it would look like nothing more than a few elegant but meaningless words written in an intricate script. To those who could read Elvish, however, they would see that it said, "Though my eyes can't see you, ' My heart will never forget you."' Again, a seemingly meaningless phrase. Unless you knew who it was referring to. But even so, Eira wanted to keep it private, and to this day, only a handful of people actually know about it's existence, and only three of them understand it's meaning and significance - the artist, herself and her husband, Gryfflett. Her mother suspects it's meaning, of course but has never said a word about it, and her attitude towards the whole thing was a huge surprise. Eira had expected to receive a real tongue lashing from her mother for getting one in the first place, but Tora never even batted an eyelid. It wasn't until some time later that Eira learned Tora also had a tattoo which she had kept hidden from the world - her own personal reminder, in fact - at the base of her spine. Tora would have been a hypocrite to chastise her daughter, when she herself had one as well. After all this time, mother and daughter now finally had something in common, and this surprisingly brought them closer to one another. Category:Female Category:Grey Elf Category:Dragon Blood Category:Storm Category:Calvierri Category:Third Generation Category:Royalty